Epilogue
by ughIcantthinkofausername
Summary: We watched them train, we watched them fight, we watched them fail, we watched them win. We laughed, we cried, we sat on the edge of our seats. And they won. And it's done. But even for a ninja, life goes on. The story doesn't end after the battle; our friends must go somewhere, must do something. But what? Join our heroes as, together, they embark on the journey called life.


**Through the seasons, through the ups and downs, we have watched our heroes through their journey to reach their full potential, save Ninjago, and restore the balance between good and evil. But what of afterwards? When all is said and done, where will they go? What will they go? Ninjago will always need heroes, big and small, but being a ninja won't always have to be a full time job. So what next?**

**You must have been wondering at least one of these. That's why you're here. So, without further ado, I welcome you to Ninjago: The Epilogue.**

* * *

So then I guess this is it.

The Overlord is defeated, Garmadon is himself once more, families have been reunited. Ninjago is at peace. I guess everything goes back to normal now.

Gosh, what does normal feel like?

* * *

For a few years, none of the ninja knew what to do. They went back to their homes, tried to do whatever it was they had done before, but something was missing.

Kai and Nya re-opened Four Weapons, though Kai never had much of a heart for smithing anymore. He had long since accepted his shortcomings in the craft. Nya knew her brother felt as though the shop was tying him down, and she encouraged him to move on, to find something he truly loved, but he knew he could never leave her.

Jay went back to his humble junkyard home, fiddling with electronics, building models, and dabbling in poetry, anything to bide his time. He and Nya were dating on and off, though something more permanent was nearly impossible. Sometimes it felt as if they lived on opposite sides of the planet, which was close enough to accurate.

Cole returned home as well, attending the local school at his request. His father had finally accepted that his son may not follow in his footsteps, and decided to allow Cole to seek greatness in his own way.

For the Juliens, returning to normal was something that hadn't been possible for years, and something which they both, honestly, found frightening. They were testing the waters nervously at first. After all, it had been years since they had really been a family. Returning to that life - one from years of imprisonment, and the other from years of wandering and later, life as a ninja - was possibly the greatest step either of them had taken.

The Garmadons faced a similar dilema. the family had been torn apart by years or war and strife; only now could the begin to heal. And they all would openly admit, they had no idea where to start. Indeed, the road ahead was winding and uncertain, but they were all willing to traverse it if it meant they could be together at last.

* * *

The years passed, and eventually the families began to settle into something approaching normalcy.

Kai eventually moved on to study at a university in northern Ninjago, but he was still never sure what he wanted to do. His greatest comfort was that he had Jay for company - the latter had earned a full scholarship to continue his studies in robotics and engineering.

Cole went to culinary school, for once improving in his least-skilled area. The others didn't expect it, but soon they grew to enjoy his vastly-improving cuisine. Starting off as the school joke, Cole would graduate at the top of his class.

Many expected the same from Zane, and Cole encouraged the nindroid to join him, but he declined. Helping the people of Ninjago had always been his life, and he couldn't imagine adjusting to anything other than that. He lived a quiet life, helping his father around the shop, studying independently, and volunteering anywhere and everywhere he got the chance.

Nya expanded the family business, always dedicated in her father's memory, and soon grew to be one of the foremost blacksmiths in all of Ninjago, shattering any and all gender roles laid as precedents.

As for Lloyd, he spent many years studying fastidiously to make up for lost time before finally leaving for a community college, where he excelled enough to transfer to law school and graduate magna cum laude.

* * *

The years passed and life continued to take its course.

Jay proposed to Nya at the very junkyard in which he had been born, the same place his father had proposed to his mother. It was dorky, but she loved him for his silliness, and could have no answer other than yes.

Two months after Nya's twenty-third birthday, the couple married very happily in a small church in Nya's village. Nya wore her mother's dress, Jay wore a rented tux - and Kai walked Nya down the aisle in place of their father. He looked Jay in the eye as he handed his sister off to the one man he knew he trusted the most never to hurt her, and who he knew would make her the happiest girl alive. A small nod gave his blessing, and he turned to the side to take his second role as best man.

Raising their four small children, Edna, Kai, Jacob, and Louis, they remained happily married for the rest of their lives, and their friends couldn't help but smile at the sight of the world's most perfect couple.

* * *

Zane and Cole had been dating casually for many years before they finally married, a quiet ceremony celebrated with their closest friends, who were overjoyed. Lou and Julien would become the best of friends that night, and remain so ever since.

The young couple adopted one adorable child, Lily, who became the sunshine of their lives.

* * *

Kai fell through many unsuccessful relationships before meeting a homely yet charming woman named Mina, who filled his life with joy and laughter. After sixteen years of their friends' teasing, the two finally settled down together, and laughed together on the porch into their old age.

* * *

Lloyd and Jasmine met in law school. She was brilliant, she was caring, and they adored each other. A natural fit, the two eventually married (to no one's surprise) and had one energetic son, Montgomery Wu Garmadon. They gave their son - and each other - their very souls, and the family bond was stronger than any imaginable.

* * *

The five and their families remained inseparable friends for eternity.

Every weekend, they would all meet at Cole's restaurant - a small diner with a loyal following - for a magnificent meal, a concert, or maybe just a chance to talk over a cup of coffee. Everyone knew that no matter what happened, they could always rely on that one ray of sunshine every Saturday afternoon, when their friends - no, their family - all surrounded them in what soon became everyone's favorite tradition.

Christmas was hosted at Julien's house, and Zane took up the tradition once his father was no longer able, insisting that at least once a year, the hollow tree would be lit and warm, and filled with his family. It would never be quite the same, but his father was always with him, no matter what physical boundaries separated the two. And if he closed his eyes, he could still see the inventor's warm smile, still feel his strong arms wrap around him like when he was barely a child, still taste the meals they would cook together every evening. And though the workshop was, in name, abandoned, every so often a few boards would be patched up, a few pictures would be dusted off - and no invention was ever allowed to fall into disrepair.

The Smith and Walker families hosted Hanukah, and everyone loved the celebration and the giving of gifts, and later sitting together playing dreidel with the children, or simply watching the fire and enjoying the blessing of good company. It was this, combined with the Christmas celebration, that made the winter holidays everyone's favorite time of year.

These three traditions could never be broken, no matter what happened. Everyone knew that every Saturday, every Christmas, every Hanukah, they would never be alone.

Not that anyone was ever alone. To the contrary, the four families never let anything come between them, and nothing bad ever happened without five old friends showing up at your door, knowing just what to say - or if words were needed at all. Often, a comforting presence was all that was needed.

* * *

And time went on, and time went on, and all good things must come to an end. But this was, indeed, a very good thing, and so the end doesn't matter that much when compared to the good before it. Because if there's one thing he had learned, through all the good times, through all the wonderful days of his past, it was that good would always prevail over every obstacle, and this was no different.

And if he closed his eyes, he could still see the inventor's smile, still hear the laughs of five teenage friends, still feel the shurikens in his fist, still sense the auras of all those he knew and loved - enveloping him, always, in a warm and comforting embrace. Since they had first met, his friends had never left him, and there was no reason for that to end now.

The good times would never leave him. His friends were never gone. They were in one life, and he in another, but their friendship never ended - for it was too strong of a thing to be destroyed by something as petty and insignificant as death.

So roll on, time. Roll on, and take what you will. But some things will never change. Some bonds are too strong to ever be torn asunder. And some friendships are ever immune to your flow.

These friendships are ever immune to your flow.

This isn't just memories.

This isn't just dreams.

This isn't visions, or hopes, or imagination.

This is family. And when you have such a wonderful thing, a family, you can never truly be alone.

* * *

And every so often a few boards would be patched up, a few pictures would be dusted off - and no invention was ever allowed to fall into disrepair.


End file.
